


Naturally

by Scimitar_Foxtrot



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Judy is Determined, Nick is Contrary, No Plot/Plotless, They're both oblivious, in a relationship without realizing it, it works out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 22:12:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8507395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scimitar_Foxtrot/pseuds/Scimitar_Foxtrot
Summary: Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are the absolute best of friends, and there is absolutely no way either of them would have it any other way.
Even if it actually is another way, and they just haven't realized it yet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> First fic I've written in something like six, seven years, and it's a pile of fluff about some furries. I'm just glad to be writing again, honestly, and these two are the hardest I've ever shipped something. That said, I hope you enjoy.

It was two episodes into the latest series they’d decided to binge together that a thought occurred to Judy Hopps.

“Nick.”

The fox curled up on the couch next to her hummed a questioning note, eyes still on the screen.

“Are we together?”

This caught Nick’s attention. He turned to look at her. “What?”

“Are we together?” Judy repeated, brow furrowed. “You know, romantically.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “I think we’d know if we were dating, Carrots. There’d have been at least one moment we could point to that’d give a hint, and I’m _pretty_ sure neither of us have popped that question. We’re clearly just best friends.”

“We’re laying pretty much on top of each other on the couch, watching TV together.”

“It’s mostly you lying on top of me,” Nick pointed out.

“Your tail’s on top of me,” Judy countered, “and also neither of us are wearing pants.”

Nick’s awareness ratcheted up another notch, eyes glancing at her gym shorts and too-big shirt—which she’d stolen from him two months ago—and then down at his own boxers. “See, I might give you credit there, but Finnick has this habit whenever he’s had a few—”

Judy was quick to interrupt this. “I don’t really want to know what Finnick gets up to when he’s drunk. Besides that, I really don’t think the two of you get as close as this when that happens.”

Nick sat upright, pulling his chest out from under Judy’s legs and letting them stay atop his legs. “You’re starting to build a case here.”

“Of course I am. There’s a whole pile of evidence to go off of here the moment I started to actually think about it.”

“I remain unconvinced.” Nick smirked. “Lay it out for me.”

Judy began to count off on her fingers. “You’ve been my plus one to seventeen of my siblings’ weddings back in Bunnyburrow. Every movie, concert, play, and party we’ve gone to in the last year? We went together, and if one of us couldn’t go the other either canceled or was vocal about how much more fun it would’ve been with them. That one time you got the flu, I took personal time off to take care of you, and then once you recovered, _I_ came down with it and you did the exact same thing, and Bogo didn’t even blink when it happened. We have a set of ‘His and Her’ towels, to-go coffee cups, and beer steins meant for mammals twice our size, the latter of which was a joke gift from McHorn and Trunkaby. Last month for my birthday you took me to the fanciest restaurant in Sahara Square for a candlelit dinner; we shared a bottle of wine, reminisced about all the good times we had together, and after dinner and dessert we took a Zoober back to the apartment we share and cuddled in our single bed until we fell asleep.

“And just to top all of this off,” Judy declared, “that time I got really mad about you calling me ‘cutesy wutesy’ and stopped talking to you for three days?”

Nick’s ears flicked backwards, and he raised a paw. “I am still sorry about that,” he said.

“I know! You apologized with a bouquet of roses and an MP3 player blasting the _Singin’ in the Rainforest_ version of ‘All I Do Is Dream of You,’ all on the front steps of Precinct One while it was actually raining!”

The ensuing silence utterly consumed the dimly-lit apartment, filling every available space as though the entire world was holding its breath. Nick Wilde stared at nothing in particular for the entire duration of that time, before turning back to Judy.

“We are such idiots,” he decided.

Judy threw her arms up. “Right?!”

The fox ran a hand over his ears, scratched the back of his neck. “It’s all completely obvious in retrospect, and I can’t think of what point it was that we went from being totally platonic to...” he waved a paw between them, then at the apartment.

“We’re probably the the last people we know to have actually made the connection. It’s not like we can even say anything to anyone, because the only thing that’s changed about our relationship is that we’re aware of it. As far as anyone else knows we’ve been going out forever and just didn’t think to say anything official about it.” Judy suddenly groaned. “And all of a sudden I’m realizing why my parents were asking about kits and adoption last time we visited.”

Nick blinked. “Do you want to adopt?”

Judy shrugged. “Maybe? Looking after a child’s well-being is a huge commitment, and I’m pretty sure the whole process of adoption is too. It’s something we’d have to talk about a lot, and I feel like if we go for it we should maybe get married or something first, make the red tape that much easier to navigate.”

“We’re discussing getting married now,” Nick noted blandly.

Judy glanced away for a moment. “...Is there any reason we shouldn’t?”

A pause. “I mean, I don’t mind just going to the courthouse and doing things there, just a quiet, private ceremony with witnesses, but I feel like your family would want to be there for your wedding and make an event out of it, and at least half the force would want to be there. There’s the question of if we want to do rings or proposals or any of that stuff.” Nick stopped to think about it some more. “Also I’m not sure what we should do with surnames. I’m pretty sure you said once that you’d never give your name up, so that means either I take your name, we both keep our names, or we do a hyphenation thing. I guess that decision could wait until the actual paperwork though.”

“That... is a lot,” Judy admitted. Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve thought about this.”

Nick smirked. “Well, before you go and get the wrong idea of me, I was pondering a marriage for entirely selfish purposes involving you doing all our taxes while I ate more of your parents’ cooking.”

“Jerk.” Judy playfully kicked at Nick. “Let’s leave the marriage talk for when we’re more awake.”

“ Fine by me. Now,” Nick smiled, “is there anything else about this we want to work through, or should we start rewinding to figure out what happened while we were having a big revelation?”

“What?” Judy glanced at the TV. “What in the—when did they all get captured?” she demanded.

“That’s what I want to find out,” Nick replied, grabbing the remote off the coffee table and hitting rewind.

“We’ll pick back up with this tomorrow,” Judy reiterated, for herself as much as for him. Nick simply made an affirmative noise in response.

With that, the fox and the rabbit got back to the positions they’d been sitting in before; this time, however, there was the occasional lingering touch or accidental meeting of the eyes, and these incidents were met with soft smiles and the occasional teasing. Later on, when the TV was turned off and the grumbling about a disappointing arc resolution quieted, the only change in their routine was a kiss goodnight.

**Author's Note:**

> This most likely won't be the last time I put works up here, so stay tuned if you like what you see. Comments and/or kudos would honestly put me over the moon, and if you're so inclined you can follow me on the Tumbls at scimitar-foxtrot.tumblr.com


End file.
